This homemade Ranch Dressing and Seasoning mix is free from artificial preservatives and chemicals with a better, cleaner flavor than the commercial version. It contains basic pantry ingredients like buttermilk powder, garlic and onion powders with dried dill and parsley. Use it just as you would the packaged kind mixing with mayonnaise or yogurt and milk for a salad dressing or dip. Try it sprinkled on popcorn or stirred into your favorite savory Chex mix. This is a household fav!
A Little about Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Mix
What is Ranch Dressing & Seasoning Mix?
Ranch dressing and seasoning mix is an American staple. It basically consists of garlic and onion powders, herbs like parsley, dill, and chives, with a dairy component like buttermilk, mayonnaise, or sour cream thus giving salads a creamy herbaceous tang. Ranch has been the top selling salad dressing since 1992. It’s clear why it’s so popular due to its versatility outside of salad dressing. Since the 1980s, people have been putting it on pizza, burgers, chicken, baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, and using it as a dipping sauce for most anything fried. It works well as a simple raw vegetable dip, too.
Genius Marketing Strategy
The success of the salad dressing caused a branching out to selling the dry ingredients in packaged form as ranch seasoning. Of course, this idea led to more versatility leading to commercial products like “Cool Ranch Doritos” and most anything that has the word “Ranch” in the title. You can find “Ranch” flavored chips, crackers, pretzels, corn nuts, rice cakes, and more. The seasoning delivers a quick and easy flavor enhancement to simple weekday meals like pastas, soups, sauces, and grilled meats and veggies. Talk about a fantastic marketing strategy!
Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Mix Origins
Sometimes the best things in life are a simple result of not having much. Leave it to Steve Henson (no relation that I know of 😊), a plumber contractor, who moved to remote Alaska in the late 1940s. To keep his workers happy in the food department, he created or invented the first ranch salad dressing. During the mid-1950s, he moved to a ranch in California renaming it Hidden Valley Ranch. On his ranch, he served his inventive salad dressing (from Alaska) to his guests. Thus, his salad dressing empire began. You can imagine the rest of the story. With much success in the bottled dressing department, it only took a few years to offer the packaged dry ingredients to make it at home.
My Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Mix Inspiration
I began making my own ranch dressing and seasoning mix about 10 years ago. Oddly enough, I don’t use the seasoning mix to make the traditional ranch salad dressing (though I have, just not routinely). Instead, I use it to season savory Chex mix, popcorn, and add it to my favorite refried bean dip or bean patties. It has so many great uses other than just salad dressing. Sometimes, I mix it with a little mashed avocado and Greek yogurt and spoon it over my salad as a dressing. Its versatility keeps me interested in making more.
This Version of Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Mix Recipe
The Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Mix version I’m sharing in this blog post is super simple, has great flavor, and doesn’t require anything but stirring dry ingredients. I’ve used this version of ranch seasoning in lots of different recipes, and it turns out as expected. Since all the ingredients are ground, except the herbs, there’s no extra step in processing ingredients in a food processor to break them down. I keep the recipe as easy and simple as I can and use the most basic of ranch seasoning ingredients. Of course, you can add a few other ingredients if you choose to this base recipe.
Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Ingredients
To make this simple seasoning recipe, you’ll need 7 ingredients including the basic salt and pepper seasonings. They are buttermilk powder, dried parsley, onion powder, dried dill weed, salt, garlic powder, and ground black pepper.
Combine the Ingredients
In a small bowl, add all the ingredients. You’ll need ¼ cup (30 grams) of buttermilk powder, 1½ teaspoons (1.5 grams) of dried parsley, 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of onion powder, ½ teaspoon (1 gram) of dried dill weed, ½ teaspoon (3 grams) of salt, ¼ teaspoon (1 gram) of garlic powder, and ⅛ teaspoon (.5 gram) of ground black pepper. Rub dried parsley and dill weed between your fingers to crush prior to adding them to the bowl. Give the mix a good stir until well combined. Be sure to use the back of a spoon to break up any powder lumps that might be present. Taste the mixture and increase slightly any preferred spice or herb. This recipe makes ¼ cup which is enough fill a small spice jar.
“mise en place” ingredients measured
Final Product!
Can you pick out any of the individual seasonings? Do you see the long, slender dill weed and crushed parsley? How about the small specks of pepper? The buttermilk powder is very white in color while the garlic and onion powders are tan in color.
Storing Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Mix
Store the Ranch Dressing and Seasoning mix in an airtight container at room temperature for up to year. Keep in mind that the seasoning mix should keep as long as the expiration dates on the individual seasoning bottles. Thus, the newer and fresher the individual seasonings, the longer the mix will keep.
TIP: Stir the mixture well before adding it to a dish, particularly after the mixture has settled.
Usage Suggestions
Make ranch salad dressing by combining 1 tablespoon of ranch seasoning with 1 cup of mayonnaise or plain Greek yogurt, and 1 cup of milk. Allow the salad dressing to meld in the fridge two hours to overnight until the powders soften. For other seasoning uses, add 1 tablespoon to a bag of hot popcorn or to a savory Chex mix recipe with the other ingredients. Use 1 tablespoon in any recipe that calls for a package of Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Mix.
Final Thoughts
The individual components of this seasoning blend are commonly found in most pantries (at least in North America and if you cook). Most grocery stores sell buttermilk powder that can be stored in the freezer for many months if you don’t use it often. This seasoning is a good blend for adding flavor to your favorite savory dips, pasta salads, and sauces. It’s great blended with a little mayonnaise on your turkey sandwiches. Use your imagination and give your daily foods a little extra seasoning and variety. 😉
Check out my short YouTube video on making this seasoning. “Ranch Dressing and Seasoning Mix: Easy, Simple, & Clean Using Pantry Ingredients”
Easy Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (30 g) buttermilk powder
- 1½ tsp (1.5 g) dried parsley
- 1 tsp (4 g) onion powder
- ½ tsp (1 g) dried dill weed
- ½ tsp (3 g) salt
- ¼ tsp (1 g) garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp (.5 g) ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add all the ingredients. Rub dill week and parsley between your fingers to crush prior to adding them to the bowl. Give the mix a good stir until well combined. Use the back of a spoon to break up any lumps. Taste the mixture and increase slightly any preferred spice or herb.TIP: Stir the mixture well before adding it a dish particularly after the mixture has settled.
Video
Notes
Check out some of these other recipes that use seasonings.
Everything Bagel Seasoning (Trader Joe’s Copycat)
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